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Alex Lowes (bimota by Kawasaki Racing Team) finished Friday’s opening MOTUL FIM Superbike World Championship pair of Free Practice sessions with a combined standing of P3. The nascent project continues to take steps in its return season. At a track where top speed is less of a factor, like at Donington Park, coupled with Lowes’ familiarity with the circuit, Bimota may have a chance for a breakthrough.

ALEX LOWES' FRIDAY: “I felt quite good, and I think we can improve tonight and make positive changes on the bike”

He opened the round on the strongest note possible, topping FP1 ahead of Nicolo Bulega (Aruba.it Racing - Ducati) by slim margins -just 0.001s- yet a positive result nonetheless as Bimota has struggled to compete with the Italian Championship leader up to this point in the season. In FP2, Alex Lowes fell to P6, yet with the increased track temperatures and many of the grid’s machines struggling for grip, only Bulega and Danilo Petrucci (Barni Spark Racing Team) outpaced his FP1 time.

On his opening day of the Prosecco DOC UK Round, Alex Lowes said: “It was a good day, the first taste of Donington Park on the Bimota. We had some seriously hot conditions, which have been nice. I like it when we come to England and the weather’s good because most of the guys on the team are from Spain, and they always complain about the English weather, so to have some good weather was nice. This afternoon was very hot. I tried to do a longer run, and I felt ok on the bike. The front of the bike, I think we can improve on this track; it’s something we can look to improve tomorrow. We did a lot of laps; the times are always so close in WorldSBK, but I felt quite good, and I think we can improve tonight and make positive changes on the bike.”

#22 ON HIS HISTORIC HOME ROUND OPPORTUNITY: “If the home fans can give me a bit more speed, maybe it’s possible, I’ll do my best”

Bimota and Donington have a special relationship in WorldSBK. Back in 1998, Donington Park hosted the first-ever WorldSBK race, and Bimota rider Davide Tardozzi topped the first-ever WorldSBK podium. With the Rimini manufacturer’s 2025 return to the Championship, Alex Lowes and teammate Axel Bassani have the chance to emulate the win in the manufacturer’s return season.

On the possibility of repeating Tardozzi’s historic feat, Alex Lowes said: “I think we have a lot of work to do before we can compete for the win, but it would be amazing. We are in the first year of the project, and we’ve shown good speed and consistent performance across different tracks, which is really important. We just need to focus on improving. A win would be a good consequence of some good work done, but I think maybe this weekend it’s a little bit too far to expect that, but I will try. If the home fans can give me a bit more speed, maybe it’s possible, I’ll do my best.”

Catch Bimota in the opening salvo of race action tomorrow at 11:00 local time! (UTC +1) Tune in live or watch it On-Demand with the WorldSBK VideoPass! Now 50% off!